'Good for purpose. But, what about parity?'

It’s 2018. Electric cars are being launched into orbit. News cycles come and go in minutes, thanks to social media. Supercomputers now fit in pockets and purses. And commerce never stops.

Times are changing in other ways, too, so business leaders take note: no matter what industry you’re in or what continent you’re on, firms no longer have an excuse not to bring purpose to your work and parity to your workplace. Why? Because purpose and parity are driving profit and performance. That’s a bold statement, but the numbers back it up.

Additionally, two-thirds of the business executives interviewed by the EY Beacon Institute are rethinking their organizations’ purpose, and more than half of those are moving toward a broader definition of purpose that includes employees, customers, shareholders and society as a whole.

Good for purpose. But, what about parity?

Women in particular have identified purpose as a vehicle to navigate the perils and perks of disruption.

In fact, 80% of women interviewed by the EY Beacon Institute said that purpose helps guide their organization through volatility, compared to just under 70% of men who were surveyed. When it comes to realizing the proven benefits of purposeful business – like better employee retention, stronger customer engagement and a more innovative workforce – that 10% gap could mean the difference between seizing and skipping this transformative opportunity.

Women recognize the value of purpose and the benefits it brings. But what does that have to do with bringing women into leadership roles?

Women leaders put purpose into practice

A key challenge of moving purpose from rhetoric to reality is making sure all employees are motivated by it and living it, not just the C-suite or the marketing department. More than 85% of women describe collaborating and integrating purpose through a wide network as “extremely critical.”

The positive relationship between purpose-driven leadership and gender equality may help explain why a 2018 report from Development Dimensions International, The Conference Board, and EY found that increasing gender diversity correlates directly with stronger growth and more effective leadership. Similarly, a 2016 EY-sponsored study by The Petersen Institute for International Economics found that an organization with 30% female leaders could add up to 6 percentage points to its net margin.

Further evidence suggests the leadership skills needed to navigate today’s volatile markets and an increasingly interconnected world are the same skills that women tend to be stronger in – relationship-building, interpersonal communication and collaboration, and balancing competing priorities. When organizations illuminate clear paths to leadership, build inclusive cultures, and support flexibility, women rise within the ranks, often inspiring purposeful transformations within their organizations along the way.

Purpose and parity reinforce one another. Regardless of where this cycle started, it’s a good for business – and good for society.

How do we #PressForProgress?

The social and economic benefits of purpose and parity are clearer than ever. Women and men believe in purpose, and are motivated by it. Women and men seek meaning in the work they do. And women and men want to work for organizations that look beyond short-term shareholder value, and seek to have a greater impact on society.

As the world approaches International Women’s Day on Thursday, 8 March, savvy leaders will leverage the global movement toward purpose-driven business and will #PressforProgress for gender equality in the workplace and in society.

This International Women’s Day, let’s ask ourselves:

· Are we building inclusive environments that bring purpose to life for every employee?

· Are we creating workplaces that allow everyone to bring their full, human self to work?

· Are we proactively sponsoring women in leadership roles?

· Are we making space for women and men to question decisions through the lens of purpose?

If we work toward a “Yes” answer to each of these questions, we’ll see the path forward is pretty straightforward: parity and purpose drive profit and performance. The more disrupted and uncertain the world, the better that simple formula works.

Businesses willing to follow this path will find themselves at the intersection of profit and purpose – and this builds a better working world for us all.

Valerie Keller has deep expertise in leadership, purpose-driven transformation and innovation. She is global head of the EY Beacon Institute and an executive director of Ernst & Young LLP in its Global Markets group.
As a former chief executive officer, she has established healthcare facilities, housing developments and social enterprises. Valerie was also founder of Veritas and two U.S. coalitions focused on housing and healthcare system reform. She has advised U.S. Congressional Committees and facilitated public-private partnerships across businesses, government agencies and non-governmental organizations.
Valerie is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and recipient of JP Morgan Chase's 20 Under 40 and Change Agent Network's Humanitarian of the Year awards. She is an Associate Fellow of the University of Oxford Saïd Business School, where she designs and leads executive education programs.

Valerie serves on the Harvard Kennedy School Women's Leadership Board and the advisory boards of Global Thinkers Forum, World Policy Institute and Womanity U.S.

She holds an MBA with Distinction Honors from the University of Oxford and completed post-graduate work at the Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School.

My career spans 20 years’+ experience in strategic leadership and management of highly committed teams within a global professional services environment.

My leadership role at the EY Beacon Institute – a global community of business leaders, board members and academics focused on helping organizations create long-term value and navigate the disruptive forces shaping the 21st century – enables me to combine my personal and professional values and beliefs.

In my current role, I also lead Women. Fast forward – the EY’s global platform to accelerate the global gender parity clock.

My style is intuitive, inclusive and empathetic. A belief in ‘looking beyond the obvious’ features heavily in my management and communication skills. I am described as open-minded, results-focused with a strong team ethos.

I’m passionate about leading change and promoting purpose, encouraging women’s empowerment in the workforce, and supporting diversity and inclusiveness. Mentorship, mental health, wellbeing at work are also prominent interests of mine.

Originally from France, I’ve lived and worked in Europe and the US performing a range of advisory and global management roles. I currently live London. I am fluent in French, English and German.
I studied PPE at Oxford University and have a Master in European Business Studies from the College of Europe, Brugge.

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